This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VILNIUS 000395
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR THE SECRETARY FROM AMBASSADOR MULL; DEPT FOR EUR;
NSC FOR AMBASSADOR FRIED
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2010
TAGS: PRELOVIPLH
SUBJECT: YOUR VILNIUS VISIT: REWARDING THE LOYAL AND
CALMING THE WATERS
Classified By: Ambassador Steve Mull; Reason 1.4 (b), (d)
Summary
-------
Â¶1. (C) Your bilateral program in Vilnius during the NATO
Ministerial will score important advances in keeping this
loyal ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, highlight our joint
efforts for a democratic Belarus, and set the stage for a
successful U.S.-Baltic summit in Riga next month. It will
also help support more constructive Lithuanian-Russian
relations following recent turbulence. I recommend you
concentrate on five key themes:
--Gratitude for Lithuania's ambitious activism on our common
interests, especially in standing up a PRT in Afghanistan and
committing to keep troops in Iraq in 2006;
--Appreciation for Lithuania's success in establishing itself
as a democracy, and welcoming its commitment to continue to
improve tolerance;
--Encouragement of Lithuania's missionary work in supporting
democracy from Belarus through Ukraine to the southern
Caucasus states;
--Respect for President Adamkus's decision against attending
May 9 ceremonies in Moscow, while urging Baltic harmony and
the importance of constructive relations with Russia; and
--Emphasis on our determination to work with Lithuania and
others in the Visa Waiver Roadmap process.
Welcome Back!
-------------
Â¶2. (C) Madam Secretary, the entire U.S. Mission joins me in
warmly welcoming you back to Vilnius for the NATO Informal
Ministerial April 20-21. Since your last visit with
President Bush in November 2002, Lithuania has undergone a
convulsive period of internal political drama featuring seven
elections, three presidents, two governments and parliaments
and Europe's first presidential impeachment. Against this
turbulent backdrop, the country in the last year celebrated
its epochal accessions to NATO and the European Union, posted
continuing explosive economic growth and launched a wave of
diplomatic activism enthusiastically supportive of U.S.
global objectives. Lithuania hosts $352 million in U.S.
direct investment, mostly in food processing, real estate and
wholesale/retail operations. Additionally, the hundreds of
Lithuanian-Americans who live here (including President
Valdas Adamkus, a former EPA administrator from Chicago) play
a prominent role in public, commercial and religious life.
Foreign Policy Consensus and Activism
-------------------------------------
Â¶3. (C) Lithuania's internal political acrimony sometimes
obscures the broad political consensus that has guided its
foreign policy since regaining independence from the Soviet
Union in 1991. Its tenets are simple: strong support for the
transatlantic bond; integration with western political and
economic institutions; and promotion of democracy throughout
the former Soviet Union. In recent years, that consensus has
powered an ambitious foreign policy that consistently
projects beyond Lithuania's diminutive size. It has had
troops on the ground in Iraq for two years (currently 115),
and vowed on April 12 to keep them there into 2006. It
readily answered our plea to lead a Provincial Reconstruction
Team in Ghowr province, Afghanistan beginning this summer.
It has provided a vast array (for its size) of support to the
developing states in the South Caucasus in military,
governance and diplomatic spheres. Closer to home, it is
proud of his strong activism in support of democracy in
Ukraine, where President Adamkus served as a co-mediator of
the election crisis last fall. On Belarus, Lithuania
recently granted asylum to the European Humanitarian
University that Minsk had closed down, and plans to support
it as a mecca for a democratic student movement and possibly
a source for independent broadcasting into Belarus. Its
parliament has formed a Belarus action group to promote broad
ties with democratic forces in Belarus, and its government
actively pressures the EU for more resources in support of
the democracy movement.
Â¶4. (C) Although increasingly focused on the requirements of
European Union membership, a special relationship with the
United States remains Lithuania's most prized foreign policy
asset. It maintains an extraordinarily close intelligence
liaison relationship with us, has been completely responsive
to our requests in the Global War on Terrorism, and is
careful to coordinate all of its foreign policy initiatives
with us.
Tensions with Russia
--------------------
Â¶5. (C) Lithuania's already complicated relations with Russia
have grown especially problematic in the past year.
Lithuania has expelled five Russian diplomats for espionage
in the past 14 months, and various political leaders have
increasingly warned of Russian efforts to infiltrate the
parliament and government. Tensions grew in the wake of
Adamkus's decision to decline Moscow's invitation to WWII
commemorative ceremonies on May 9, especially when the local
Russian Ambassador in response publicly called Lithuanians "a
rabble of anti-Russian scandalmongers" and threatened a
cutoff of energy supplies. Meanwhile, since the new year,
emotive charges that Foreign Minister Valionis and State
Security Department Chief Pocius had obscured Soviet-era KGB
links pushed up the temperature even further. A
parliamentary commission absolved both, but some dissatisfied
members of parliament have launched a hunger strike demanding
their resignations.
Â¶6. (C) Valionis traveled to Moscow April 8 for a quickly
scheduled meeting with Lavrov in a successful attempt to put
relations on a more constructive footing. Valionis told me
April 12 that Lavrov had: instructed his Ambassador in
Vilnius to cease all public activity until further notice;
committed to positive and constructive Russian participation
at the Vilnius NATO events; promised renewed attention to
Lithuanian requests for more favorable tariff treatment of
Russian exports through Lithuanian ports and repatriation of
Lithuanian deposits in Russian banks; agreed to discuss all
future espionage cases and expulsions out of the public
light; and expressed complete understanding for Lithuania's
not coming to Moscow May 9. In return, Valionis declared
Lithuania's commitment to constructive relations with Russia,
announced a temporary moratorium on efforts to seek Russian
compensation for the Soviet annexation of Lithuania, and
privately agreed to stop all Lithuanian government comments
about the local Russian Ambassador's inflammatory remarks.
Baltic Squabbling
-----------------
Â¶7. (C) The May 9 controversy also caused some crankiness in
relations among the Baltic states. Adamkus bitterly
complains in private that by going to Moscow, Vike-Freiberga
shattered Baltic unity and is attempting to cast Latvia as
the Baltic leader (undermining Lithuania's own ambition to
claim that mantle.) In response, Lithuania worked closely
with Estonia in announcing a joint decision to boycott the
Moscow events, and then launched a crude campaign to move the
venue of the proposed summit from Riga to Tallinn (without
coordinating with Estonia). In the end, Adamkus welcomed the
invitation to meet President Bush and his Baltic colleagues
in Riga, but he is still angling for a private session with
President Bush.
Bilateral Relations
-------------------
Â¶8. (C) The U.S. Mission works hard to keep Lithuania on
board with our broad global agenda. Internally, we support
efforts to restitute Jewish property confiscated during the
Holocaust, promote tolerance of minorities, and assist local
law enforcement capabilities in the battle against terrorism,
corruption and WMD smuggling. The only blot on an otherwise
rosy bilateral relationship is widespread public disaffection
with U.S. visa requirements. The discontent has its roots in
the 30 percent refusal rate for tourist visa applicants that
results from Lithuanian proclivities for illegal work in the
United States and overstaying visas. President Bush's
announcement of the Visa Waiver Roadmap initiative in
February was widely popular here -- your reiteration of it
during your visit will contribute to your visit's success.
Your Schedule
-------------
Â¶9. (C) In your ride from the airport to the Presidency with
Foreign Minister Valionis, I recommend you pay tribute to his
energetic efforts in support of democracy in the former
Soviet Union, particularly in Belarus and the South Caucasus;
welcome his government's strong commitment to lead the
Afghanistan PRT and to maintain troops in Iraq in 2006; and
hear his preview of the Ministerial.
Â¶10. (C) President Adamkus in his meeting with you will want
to:
--spell out Lithuania's plans for continuing its support of
democracy throughout the former Soviet Union, especially in
Belarus;
--review Lithuania's operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
--discuss Lithuanian concerns about Russia, and especially
hear a report on your just-concluded visit there;
--hear the latest plans for the Riga Summit, and possibly
express his interest in a private meeting with the President;
and
--seek reassurance that the U.S. understands his decision not
to go to Moscow on May 9.
Â¶11. (C) Your meeting with the Belarusian opposition in
conjunction with Foreign Minister Valionis will give
prominence to President Bush's commitment to spread
democracy, and energize even great Lithuanian activism in
this direction, both bilaterally and through the European
Union.
Themes
------
Â¶12. (C) Focusing on the following themes in your meetings
and in the press will help ensure your visit's success:
--Gratitude for Lithuania's ambitious activism on our common
interests, especially in standing up a PRT in Afghanistan and
committing to keep troops in Iraq in 2006;
--Appreciation for Lithuania's success in establishing itself
as a democracy, and welcoming its commitment to continue to
improve tolerance;
--Encouragement of Lithuania's missionary work in supporting
democracy from Belarus through Ukraine to the southern
Caucasus states;
--Respect for President Adamkus's decision against attending
May 9 ceremonies in Moscow, while urging Baltic harmony and
the importance of constructive relations with Russia; and
--Emphasis on our determination to work with Lithuania and
others in Visa Waiver Roadmap process.
Your Team
---------
Â¶13. I am also grateful for your willingness to meet and greet
this Mission's employees and their families. It is my good
fortune to lead a talented, dedicated staff of 175 Lithuanian
and American employees. They are all thrilled with the
prospect of meeting you next week.
Mull